<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>With Nuts and Honey by Meilan_Firaga</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270742">With Nuts and Honey</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meilan_Firaga/pseuds/Meilan_Firaga'>Meilan_Firaga</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Feels, Forgiveness, Found Family, Gen, Hope, Hopeful Ending, Light Angst, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:49:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>576</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270742</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meilan_Firaga/pseuds/Meilan_Firaga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes forgiveness is inevitable, but inevitable doesn't mean without work.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Andromache of Scythia &amp; Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani &amp; Nicky | Nicolo di Genova &amp; Nile Freeman, Andy | Andromache &amp; Booker | Sebastien le Livre &amp; Joe | Yusuf al-Kaysani &amp; Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Andy | Andromache of Scythia &amp; Booker | Sebastien le Livre, Andy | Andromache of Scythia &amp; Nile Freeman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Trick or Treat Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>With Nuts and Honey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/boasamishipper/gifts">boasamishipper</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nile was with them for six months before she finally got the courage to ask about the baklava. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It showed up whenever they were in the same place for more than a couple of days. Sometimes it would appear in a wrapped package on the counter of whatever served as their kitchen. Sometimes it arrived in the mail, sealed in a tin and addressed to a name she didn’t recognize. And other times it showed up when they were out in the world: small blocks left on the hood of the car after a grocery run, delivered by a local child who would smile toothily at them, or tidy parcels dropped into Nile’s pocket when they moved through a crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last was the method that freaked her out. She hadn’t yet developed the practically supernatural senses of the others, which had to be why it was left with her. Whoever was following them always knew when to find her trailing behind the others, keeping the rear guard while Andy took the lead. They would bump shoulders or hips, and Nile would find the gift later. Even more disturbing were they days when they were out and she never noticed the treat until they got back to their safe place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Andy always smiled at the delivery. Joe and Nicky would swear, both of them drifting out of the room with petulant expressions. Nicky seemed to be the most bitter, one hand inevitably drifting toward whichever pocket held his current stores of cash.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is up with the baklava?” Nile finally asked one day in Singapore. The sweet pastry was waiting for them when they checked into their hotel room this time, resting in the middle of a coffee table on top of a stack of books. Nicky took one look and stomped back out, swearing in Italian while Joe trailed behind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re from Booker,” Andy explained with a smile. She carefully unwrapped the brown paper from the treat and took a small bite. Her eyes drifted closed, pleasure all over her features. “Mmmm. This one’s pistachios.” Her eyes opened and she smiled up at Nile. “He and Nicky used to make bets. Nicky would bring baklava from somewhere he and Joe had travelled and wager that I wouldn’t be able to guess it’s origin. Booker always took the bet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nile raised an eyebrow. “Did Nicky ever win?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not once.” With a wolfish grin, Andy popped the rest of the baklava in her mouth, but by the time she finished chewing her expression had grown somber. “If Joe and Nicky stick to the decision about a hundred years, they’ll never get to make that bet again. Booker is doing two things with leaving these for me. He’s giving a treat to a friend he might never see again, and he’s trying to wear Nicky down.” Her next smile was sad, unshed tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think it will work?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a deep breath, Andy sighed. “Not right away. We’ve gotten very good at holding grudges.” She considered the question for several long moments. “A few years. Maybe a decade. They will give in eventually.” Hope bled back into her features, lips quirking in a way that wasn’t quite a smile, but wasn’t as expressionless as before. “That’s the thing about family. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Real family</span>
  </em>
  <span>—not the fragile kind of bond that comes from blood or obligation. You can’t help but forgive them.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>